Way to Go week with San Mateo County Health System

May, aka Bike Month, was a busy one here at SVBC since it was not only Bike to Work Day but also many other activities and events that our partners put on to celebrate and encourage riding a bike.

We were happy to participate in several events for San Mateo County Health System‘s Way to Go Week, an employee program to encourage alternate forms of transportation, which coincided with the week of Bike to Work Day. The most fun event the Bicycle Fashion Show, in which I and other bicycle commuters showed off our bikes, biking outfits and gear. There was a broad range of participants in terms of age and style. As you can see from the pics, everyone chooses a different way to ride their bike, and whatever works for them – we support! Ellen Barton, Active Transportation Coordinator for San Mateo County’s City and County Association of Governments (C/CAG) even came out with a Bay Area Bike Share bike and an amazing black trench coat with reflective strips in the pleats.

Jean Fraser, Health Systems Chief, started the event off with a great presentation on reasons to bike and her own personal motivations for choosing a bicycle. The Health System has a vested interest in promoting bicycling and active transportation throughout San Mateo County in order to prevent many disease and poor health. This event and others are part of San Mateo County Health Systems’s Get Healthy SMC work. They hope that events such as these will encourage their employees to try a different form of transportation at least once or twice a week. And in fact, one of the Bicycle Fashion Show participants had started biking to work after a previous year’s Way to Go week.